<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>As If Nothing Really Matters by 2MusicLover2</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24854632">As If Nothing Really Matters</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/2MusicLover2/pseuds/2MusicLover2'>2MusicLover2</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Ignores Canon, M/M, Sequel to Carry On, five years after carry on ends, i started writing this before book 2 came out, kind of, this ignores my wayward son, who knows maybe I’ll add some smut and make it the holy trinity</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 07:35:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,459</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24854632</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/2MusicLover2/pseuds/2MusicLover2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Five years after Simon, Baz, and Penny had saved the magickal world and Simon and Penny moves in together, Penny is moving to America and Simon and Baz are starting a new portion of their lives together.</p><p>Of course, the world won’t just let them live in peace..</p><p>[I outlined the plot for this before Wayward Son came out, so it kind of ignores a lot of canon]</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Penelope Bunce &amp; Simon Snow, Penelope Bunce &amp; Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch, Penelope Bunce &amp; Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch &amp; Simon Snow, Penelope Bunce/Micah Cordero, Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch/Simon Snow</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Simon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I can’t help but feel a little deja-vu when, again, just like five years ago, I am the only one without magic, yet I’m the only one carrying the boxes and furniture. The only difference is that this time everything is being moved out of the flat instead of into it.</p><p>“You know, I could just take all of my stuff and put it someplace else then leave you for not helping me,” I threaten Baz when I walk back into the flat to see him sitting on the couch sipping out of a Starbucks cup.</p><p>“Oh, please. You wouldn’t leave me. With Bunce moving to America, I’m the only one who can hide your wings and tail,” he replies with a grin.</p><p>I take the cup out of his hand right as he’s putting it up to his lips and then take a sip out of it myself, careful not to burn my tongue. I make a disappointed humming sound. “What happened to pumpkin mocha breve? What is this?” I complain, shoving the cup back at Baz.</p><p>“This is called they were out of the pumpkin and I tried to substitute with cinnamon. It didn’t turn out how I expected but I don’t want to just throw it out.”</p><p>“Yeah, don’t ever do that again,” I say just as Penny walks out of her room.</p><p>“I don’t know whether to ask what you’re talking about or to ask why the one time I walk into a room without seeing you two snogging is on the day we’re moving out,” Penny says, which causes Baz to laugh.</p><p>“We can if you want us to,” he says through his laughter, beckoning me closer to him. I oblige and as soon as he can reach, he places his hand on the back of my neck, pulling me into him. I quickly straddle his legs and tangle my fingers in his long hair, opening my mouth and making the kiss as sloppy and obscene as I can.</p><p>Penny gags from next to us. “No, no, no. No need for that. Kindly disentangle yourselves. I could have lived without seeing that.”</p><p>Baz pulls away first and I chase after his lips, but he only grants me a quick peck before he smiles and gently pushes me off his lap. I whine in response and his smile grows. “We’ll have plenty of time for that later,” he says, “but only if we can finish moving everything out of here and into our new house.”</p><p>I grin, thinking of how Baz and I were finally going to start living together again, only this time as a couple. Of course, we’ve been basically living together for these past five years, what with Baz barely spending any time at his flat with Fiona, but now it’ll be official. Not to mention, we won’t have anyone else with us, constantly interrupting and walking in on things that really should not be walked in on. (Penny has a problem with not knocking.) (Baz says she’s almost worse than Mordelia, and quite honestly, I have to agree.)</p><p>Just then, a knock sounds on the doorframe, even though we left the door propped open with a box. All three of us turn to look and see Micah standing there, having come to take Penny to America. My expression quickly falls as the dread and sadness I had been feeling for the past month or so when Penny first announced she was moving to America with Micah crashes over me.</p><p>Penny bounds up to her boyfriend, throws her arms around his neck, and kisses him passionately. I feel Baz press himself against my side and slip his arms around my waist, holding me the same way he always does when he’s trying to comfort me. It helps some, but I’m still upset, and my tail betrays me by switching back and forth between hanging limply behind me and flicking itself around angrily.</p><p>“Do you guys need any help packing up?” Micah asks as he and Penny pull apart.</p><p>Penny nods frantically in response. “That’d be wonderful. Simon’s too slow.”</p><p>“Well, that’s what happens when I’m the only one doing the work,” I say.</p><p>“I’ve been helping! Just ‘cause Baz hasn’t left his seat on that couch doesn’t mean that I haven’t done anything!”</p><p>“Hey!” Baz says. “I thought we were on the same team here?”</p><p>I roll my eyes and take the coffee back away from Baz, holding it away from him so he’ll have to fight to get it back.</p><p>“Please. That shit’s disgusting. You wanna take it, go right ahead. The only reason I’ve even kept it this long is that I feel an obligation to finish it.”</p><p>I huff and set the coffee on the floor. Sadly, my tail flicks and knocks it over not even a second later. Baz casts a quick clean as a whistle and I give an apologetic smile as thanks. Baz smiles back and wraps his arms around my waist, giving me a kiss on my temple.</p><p>“I’ll help you with the rest of the furniture,” he says into my hair and even though I knew he would help me all along, I’m still grateful for it.</p><p>“So, where are you two gonna live next?” Micah asks and when Baz pauses in casting light as a feather on the remaining furniture, he adds “Penny never told me.”</p><p>I give a hopeful glance to Baz, but instead of waiting to see if maybe he wants to answer, I get a little over-excited and answer Micah myself. “We bought a nice little house just outside of London! It’s big, but not too big, and it’s got a little bit of land to it, and there’s a nice forest behind it so—”</p><p>Before I can continue, Baz cuts me off with a kiss, and I remember that Micah doesn’t truly know that Baz is a vampire. “I love seeing you so excited over this,” he says, easily covering up the fact that I almost revealed him as a vampire, even though it probably wouldn’t have been that bad.</p><p>“You two are so cute,” Micah grins, and Penny rolls her eyes.</p><p>“Don’t let them fool you. You didn’t have to live with them for five years,” she mocks sticking a finger in her mouth and gagging, which makes Micah, Baz, and I all laugh.</p><p>“We couldn’t have possibly been that bad,” Baz replies. “I mean, it did take five years for you to get tired of it and move out.”</p><p>“Oh, be quiet and start helping Simon with the furniture,” Penny says with another roll of her eyes.</p><p>Baz laughs as he finishes casting the spells and then easily picks up the couch, motioning with his head for Micah and Penny to move out of the doorway. I quickly follow him and grab the other side of the couch, just to keep up the pretense for anyone possibly watching that the couch is heavy and there’s nothing to be suspicious about. Even though we’re moving, it would probably still be an issue if someone found out we were mages.</p><p>“So, I was thinking… we’re not going to have any dishes or anything really tonight unless we feel like unpacking them, which I doubt we will, so would you want to go out to dinner tonight? Someplace nice. We haven’t been out to eat in a while, maybe I could see if I can get us a reservation?” Baz asks as we’re walking out the front door and towards the moving van we rented for the day.</p><p>I smile softly at him and nod my head. “Of course, that sounds great!”</p><p>But the smile he gives me in return is off. It’s not the bright happy grin I’ve gotten so used to seeing and have loved over the past five years. To anyone else, it might look the same, but I’ve spent countless hours staring at it, memorizing it. I know how he smiles when he’s still half asleep, but I accidentally woke him up when I was getting up to get some food and I try to sneak back into bed but he’s already awake and waiting for me. I know how he smiles when we go to visit his family and we finally make it through our entire stay there without his father insulting me for being the mage’s heir. I know how he smiles when he’s in pain, but he’s trying to hide it, and all I can do is wrap my arms around him and whisper in his ear how much I love him. I know how he smiles when he’s trying to be brave even though it seems to him that it’s the last thing he can do, and that’s the smile he gives me now. So I smile brighter and brighter at him until I see the tinges of fear melt away to be replaced by laughter.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hilo!</p><p>So, I came up with the idea for this and outlined the plot a few years ago, before My Wayward Son came out, and I recently redound it and wanted to finish writing it. Taking canon into account would change a lot of the plot that I’ve already got planned, so I’m just gonna ignore it.</p><p>I’ve got quite a few works in progress at the moment, so updates might be a bit slow, but they will keep coming!</p><p>I love reading comments and reply to them all, so please leave a comment telling me what you think so far! I also appreciate all kudos, it lets me know that I’m doing something right!</p><p>Make sure to subscribe to get notified when the next chapter is posted! I hope you enjoyed so far!<br/>-2MusicLover2</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Baz</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The fucking reservations fell through and I can’t fucking find it. I’ve looked in every single fucking box but it’s not in any of them. This was supposed to be perfect but everything that could possibly go wrong is going wrong. Luckily, Fiona agreed to help with dinner, and she said she’d get the rest of the family on board with it too, but I need to find that fucking ring.</p><p>“Are you okay?” I hear Simon ask from behind me as he puts a hand on my shoulder, and I jump. I’ve been so freaked out that I didn’t even hear Simon come up behind me.</p><p>“Um… yeah. I was just looking for something,” I say when I turn around to face him.</p><p>He gives me a concerned look. “Do you want me to help you look for it when we get back?” he asks, and that’s when I notice he’s already dressed up in a light blue button-down and black slacks. A quick glance at my watch shows me that it’s half past six, and our reservation, if we had it, was for seven.</p><p>“Shit!” I say, rather than an actual answer.</p><p>“Baz, are you sure you’re okay? You’ve been acting a little weird all day. I’m worried about you. What’s wrong?”</p><p>“I—” I start, but I cut myself off. It’s not really like I can tell him, can I? “It was supposed to be special and romantic, but everything fell apart!” I burst before I can stop myself because now that I’m actually allowed to talk to him about my problems, I can never seem to keep it to myself.</p><p>“What was supposed to be special and romantic?”</p><p>I shrug and just barely move my lips as I answer “Proposing.”</p><p>“What? Baz, love, you have to speak up.”</p><p>And, because now is as good a time as any, I decide to just do it. “Simon,” I start and I will never get over how his face lights up when I call him by his first name. “Simon. I wanted to take you out to a nice dinner tonight, but the reservation fell through so we’re actually just going to my family’s house and they were going to serve us dinner. It fits though because when have things ever gone perfect with us? You and I are—if I’m being honest—a mess,” I say, and he gives a small laugh. “And, even though we are a mess, I love you and I love being a mess with you, so, Simon Snow, will you marry me? I don’t really have a ring right now because that’s what I was looking for, but it’s all the same.”</p><p>Simon chokes on his laughter and surges forward to wrap his arms around me. I hug him back and he whispers “Of course,” in my ear.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Snowbaz proposal!</p><p>Oh, I love these two, they’re so adorable!</p><p>Please, make sure to leave comments, I reply to them all, and kudos are always appreciated and loved!</p><p>Don’t forget to subscribe to get notified when more is posted! I hope you enjoyed!<br/>-2MusicLover2</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Penny</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I can’t believe Simon and Baz. Actually, I can. This is absolutely like them. But still. They just let me move out and head to America without telling me they were getting engaged!</p><p>To be fair to Simon, he didn’t actually know, but Baz did! He could have told me his plans so that I could at least be there to celebrate with them! Instead, I have to find out over video call the day after I moved.</p><p>“Really? <em>Really</em>? I can’t <em>fucking</em> believe you two!” I say when Simon tells me.</p><p>He looks at least a bit sheepish when he replies, “Sorry, I can’t control when he proposes to me.”</p><p>I glare at him.</p><p>“What? Oh, come on, Penny, aren’t you happy for us at least a <em>little</em> bit?” he asks.</p><p>That makes me feel slightly guilty for my reaction, and I nod my head frantically as I hear Baz laughing in the background. “Of course I am! I’m thrilled! I’m just disappointed you guys got engaged literally <em>right</em> after I moved to America.”</p><p>“Babe, she’s not actually mad,” I hear Baz say somewhere offscreen.</p><p>“I’m not mad at <em>Simon</em>,” I correct. “You, on the other hand…”</p><p>Simon smirks and picks up his laptop, carrying it over to the couch where he sits down next to Baz.</p><p>“Tyrannus Basilton Grimm-Pitch,” I say in my most threatening voice, and he raises his eyebrows at me. I can tell he’s trying to keep it together, but in his eyes is a look of fear that gives me a thrill to know I put it there. “<em>Why</em> did you not tell me you were going to propose? I would have liked to have been able to celebrate with you!”</p><p>Baz relaxes into the couch cushions and rolls his eyes. “You would have blabbed to Snow.”</p><p>I scoff. “Would not.”</p><p>This time, it’s Baz’s turn to fix me with a withering look, and my resolve crumbles almost instantly.</p><p>“Okay, maybe I would have, but still. Why not just do it while I was still there?”</p><p>“Because it was <em>supposed</em> to be romantic. Then the reservations fell through and I kinda-sorta-maybe lost the ring, but Snow loves me anyways, so.”</p><p>I huff in annoyance and fold my arms over my chest. Would it really have killed him to at least do it while I was still there?</p><p>“Look,” Baz says, clearly reading my disappointment. (It’s not like I was really hiding it). “To make it up to you, how about you help me plan the wedding?”</p><p>I hesitate, but can’t help the smile that breaks out on my face. “Really?”</p><p>Baz nods. “Yeah, why not? If Snow helped we’d end up with cherry scones instead of a cake or some shit like that. I can’t do it alone, and you have at least <em>some</em> taste.”</p><p>My smile turns into a grin. “Thanks. I’d really like that.”</p><p>And so starts mine and Baz’s twice-weekly wedding-planning video calls.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hilo!</p><p>It’s been a bit since the last chapter, huh? Sorry about that wait and that it’s a bit short, I’m getting ready for college so everything’s a bit hectic. Once I get moved in, though, I’m going to try and make a semi-regular schedule for all of my fics (there’s quite a few, so it may be pretty infrequent) to at least give myself a sense of organization.</p><p>I’m kind of thinking I might change this into third-person, idk. Each chapter will still be centered around a specific character and their thoughts, just... in third-person instead of first. Lemme know what you think and which perspective you’d rather it be in.</p><p>Also, I have /tentatively/ decided that there will be 54 chapters. I’ve got most of the plot planned out, I just have to break it up into chapters and decide what I want in whose perspective. This number is subject to change.</p><p>Please, be sure to subscribe to get notified when I update next! Updates are extremely sporadic as of right now, but I can promise you they will happen! Also, please be sure to leave comments and kudos, I love to know what everyone thinks of my writing, and I reply to all comments!</p><p>Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!<br/>-2MusicLover2</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>